Bloodhaven
The battle for survival begins! ENGAGE! Bloodhaven ''is an upcoming 2.5D crossover fighting game developed by Arc System Works and Capcom for the Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X, pulling different characters from across entertainment mediums into a single shared story and world. Based on ''Super Smash Bros. with heavy influence from Guilty Gear ''and ''Street Fighter, the game incorporates the simple to understand input system of the former with the competitive flair, flat stages, and other additions from the latter two, creating a game that's good for beginners while keeping the depth of more standard fighters. Based heavily on Super Smash Bros. Swansong and'' Fortresses of Light, the game scales back it's roster to the low forties while retaining the quality of the two games, focusing on an expansion of extra content and modes along with overall roster balance. Launching on ??? ???, 2021, ''Bloodhaven came with 42 characters, 50 stages, over 100 character statues, and plenty of modes for players to experiment with. Gameplay Bloodhaven plays like a cross between platform fighters like Super Smash Bros. and traditional 2D fighters such as Street Fighter and Guilty Gear. The action is stuck on a 2D plane, but the characters have the mobility a game like Smash ''would provide, giving each fighter a set of normal attacks, throws, and special moves that can be executed via simple inputs and button presses. Similar to older ''Fatal Fury games, BLOODHAVEN's big gimmick is that each stage has two individual layers to fight upon, allowing fighters to switch between them at a moment's notice. None of the layers feature big gimmicks, instead allowing for each and every stage to be packed with details that can only be seen on each layer, with characters shrinking and growing to accommodate the field of depth they inhabit. Every character comes with two Super Moves; using one of these in battle will sacrifice the other, draining it back to square one. A Super Move can only be used once per battle and, if not used for long enough, drains along with the other and can't be refilled until the next round. The first one is called the Umbrella Limit, which usually takes the form of a cutscene that shows off the true personality of the characters and what they're capable of. They always do immense damage, but not enough for one to be considered "unfair". The second one is known as "Cipher's Imprint," a move that calls upon the immense power of Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls to boost the strength of each fighter at the cost of their personality and morals. Whether the Imprint turns you into a monster who's bent on killing or transforms you into a stronger version of yourself, it's always seen as tapping into some kind of sinister force in exchange for the upper hand. Most Imprint Forms are controllable with a few exceptions, such as Ruby Gloom's, but all of them have some kind of drawback in exchange for their benefits. This creates a question: would you rather pull off one damaging move where the true you is showing but have no real control over it...or would you rather have full control over your attacks at the cost of losing yourself to a higher power? Each stage comes with a selection of music from across media; however, character themes are available to use at any time, providing songs that fit the stage or the fighter well. Tutorials are available for those who need the extra help when playing the game, providing prompts for them to follow in order for them to learn. The game gets rid of traditional Light/Medium/Heavy inputs in exchange for the simple Smash-like gameplay mentioned above. Each stage is about two to three screens high, more and more of the background details being shown off depending on how high you and your opponent are in the air. It's possible to shield attack as well - in fact, you're able to pull of a parry that nullifies any damage or effect an attack would have done, but constant use of the mechanic will decrease its effectiveness until it refuses to work. It works that way using the same move multiple times and rolling as well. Bloodhaven has fake in-game currency known as "Cipher Credits," currency which cannot be bought with real money. The credits can be spent on fighter costumes, additional music, unlocking characters and stages early, character artwork, and bonus development material for the game. The money is obtained whenever you do a task, whether it be beating a versus battle, winning an online tourney, beating the bosses, or just generally being good at the game. The shop is run by two characters: the previously mentioned Bill Cipher from Gravity Falls and the stoic yet in-control Rodin from Bayonetta, both acting as reluctant comedic foils to one another. Modes The Versus tab is where all of your battle-based modes are held! Whether they be solo, with a friend, or a boss rush, it's all about taking down your opponent in the best fashion you can! *Versus Mode: A mode where you can face off against either a CPU or another living opponent locally! You're able to adjust the time limit, the amount of life each player has, whether you want both Super Moves on, and more to customize your fighting experience! *Duo Versus: Select two fighters and get going in a mode inspired by Marvel VS Capcom! You're able to switch out your fighter on the fly or wait until your first fighter is K.O.'d, allowing for you to show off how much you truly know your mains. *Bracket Brawl: The entire roster is out to get each other, and it's up to you to make it to first place! Fight through up to six battles and end up as the last one remaining in order to gain your prize! Arrange the order of fighters in any way you want, the amount of participants included, and other rules for battling. *Gimmick Versus: Like your battles with a little more chaos? Adjust the speed, filters, camera orientation, jump height, and more of a match in this party-based mode! Just how crazy can your dream battles get? *Boss Rush: Duke it out with the giant bosses of Story Mode! Whether it be on your own or with a friend, taking down these baddies a second time (in one go) isn't gonna be easy! Show them who's...I'm not finishing that sentence. *Statue Stampede: Collect trophies based on the multitude of series with fights that fit their character ala Spirits in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. While you can purchase some with Cipher Credits, the thrill of the fight keeps you coming back and collecting over 100 characters from all series represented in Bloodhaven. These statues are displayed in the gallery alongside pieces of the game's developmental process; don't be afraid to learn more about characters you may be unfamiliar with! For a full list of trophies, may I recommend you check this page out? Speaking of Story Mode...taking up it's own slot on the main menu, it's... The Story mode features all 42 characters teaming up for the greater good in order to take down the being who forcefully brought their worlds together: the ancient god of entropy, Abyss. In order to take down Abyss, heroes and villains must set aside their differences and fight through level after level of enemies and fights against fellow abductees. The story has two gameplay focuses: the first one are traditional one-on-one fights similar to the Injustice games and Art of Fighting, while the second style is...beat-em'-up gameplay? You and another character run side by side on a large 2D plane, engaging in combat similar to Streets of Rage and Final Fight with the various movesets of a fighting game! Take down as many enemies as you can in order to save all of reality from the all-powerful Abyss...and who knows? Maybe a new face could be present as well? If only there was a way to play this "beat-em'-up" style of gameplay outside of battle...oh, wait. Take down enemies whether it be alone or with a friend, customize the levels you travel through, and take down massive bosses at the end with the fully customizable Beat 'Em Up! mode! All stages here either come from the Story mode or are made exclusively for this, with the selection of places you travel across and their layouts having the ability to be randomized to your will before you start a game. Beating this mode rewards you with either Cipher Credits or a new costume for the character you're playing as if you reach the end. Test all of the fighters out and see what chaos you can conjure up! With the exception of Story Mode, every mode is able to be played with another person online! Take your fights around the globe, bet Cipher Credits on matches and see what you gain or lose from it, fight in online tourneys to see who's the winner, or fight in simple one-on-one matches. Adjustments had to be made, such as shorter, fully randomized sessions of Beat 'Em Up!, but almost everything else in the game has been left intact. The netcode was partially created Riot Games' subsidiary, Radiant Entertainment, who made the extremely solid online features for their old game, Rising Thunder; as such, the online was made specifically to avoid any major issues across the board, unlike in other fighting games. Other features that are commonplace in other games are here too, whether it be a "museum" for viewing developmental pieces, settings to adjust specific qualities of the game, and other quality of life-based toggles. Characters Bloodhaven's ''roster consists of 42 characters; 21 starting characters and 21 unlockable fighters. All of them can be viewed via clicking on their icon in the table below. Each of them has a unique moveset, small descriptions, themes, and tagline. Stages ''Bloodhaven has a total of 60 stages overall: 50 normal and 10 for the Beat 'Em Up! mode. Below is a list of all stages, each separated by their classification. Normal Stages There are 50 normal stages in Bloodhaven, 21 being unlocked from the start. While the first 42 correlate with one of the many playable characters, the last 8 are entirely disconnected from any playable representative and instead represent series that have none; as such, they're even more wild in terms of choices, but lack the bonuses that other stages would have when you play as their character. Beat 'Em Up! Stages Below is a list of 5 out of the planned 10 stages available for the Beat 'Em Up! mode, spanning various different series. Each stage is a collection of assets that are either present in Story mode or made exclusively for this mode. All are unlocked by default, but new assets are added by progressing further in either this mode or Story mode. Music Music in Bloodhaven is unique to each stage and can be chosen before the start of the match. While some stages have music exclusively from their respective series, other stages bring in all different kinds of music due to a lack of source material in the series. Players are able to set up custom playlists that they can assign to a stage, allowing them to transport music from other stages onto another one. You can always have the character themes playing instead if you so desire. Trivia *''Bloodhaven'' was inspired and is a semi-remake of DoodleFox's first umbrella game, Multiverse Umbrella, a game with a convoluted history and a terrible visual style. Bloodhaven started as a full remake before becoming it's own thing, acting as a celebration of all things Doodle likes. *Wryn's design from the BLEED Blog was decided relatively late into development, originally being her design from the existing BLEED games. *There was plenty of internal debate on whether a series could get two or more representatives. This was decided by DoodleFox who, in his own words, said "it's my game, let me do what I want." *There's substantial evidence of Greg Heffley and Oswald being planned for the base roster, but were cut for unknown reasons. Oswald's model can be found in the data and Greg's neutral special had been animated, albeit it was slapped onto Robot Jone's model instead of a fully original one. **While speculation it's often rumored that Richter Belmont and Ken Masters were planned but scrapped. *The game's codename, as seen in files, was Trouble Man. *It was a deliberate choice to use Ridley's Brawl/Super Metroid design for Bloodhaven to give the monster a visual difference from his Smash Bros. counterpart outside of his size and flying. *The game's crossover element and just how extensive it is was also inspired by Marvel VS Capcom 2, a game which Doodle is known to praise to hell and back. *Echo Fighters were planned for the roster, but were seemingly cut for no reason. Elements for BLEED's ''Rival as a Wryn echo were found in the code, but went seemingly unused. He would've had different weight properties and a unique version of her Down Special. *The name ''Bloodhaven ''was actually inspired by another game Doodle took notes from, ''COLD❄BLOOD. *Fantendo user ValkyriePyra helped heavily on the moveset for Cloud. Shoutout to her for being so helpful. Category:Bloodhaven Category:Umbrella Games Category:Crossover Fighting Games Category:Crossovers Category:Crossover Games Category:Fighting Games Category:DoodleFox Category:Multiplayer Games Category:Xbox Series X Games Category:Nintendo Switch Games